Ozone layer showing first signs of recovery, UN study says
CFC ban agreed in 1980s now seen as an international triumph that prevented ecological crisis, but global warming has played part too
Earth's protective ozone layer is beginning to recover, largely because of the phasing out of certain chemicals used in refrigerators and aerosol cans which began in the 1980s, a United Nations scientific panel reported in a rare piece of good news about the health of the planet.
Scientists said the development demonstrates that when the world comes together, it can counteract a brewing ecological crisis.
It’s a victory for diplomacy and science and the fact we were able to work together
For the first time in 35 years, scientists were able to confirm a significant and sustained increase in stratospheric ozone, which shields the planet from solar radiation - which causes skin cancer and damages crops, among other problems.
From 2000 to 2013, ozone levels climbed 4 per cent in key latitudes at 50 kilometres up, said Nasa scientist Paul Newman. He co-chaired the ozone assessment by 300 scientists. The assessment is carried out every four years.
"It's a victory for diplomacy and for science and for the fact that we were able to work together," said chemist Mario Molina. In 1974, he and Frank Sherwood Rowland wrote a scientific study forecasting the ozone depletion problem. They won the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work.